His drive to serve his country, to combat terrorism and other evil in the world, was unwavering. He was intransigently steadfast in what he believed was right and wrong. There had never been gray with Mantis; everything had always been black or white.
Thinking back on it, Dutch hadn’t seen anything remotely close to conviction in Mantis since he returned from an op that should’ve been the crowning achievement of his life’s work.
Few knew or ever would that Mantis had singlehandedly taken out Bagish Safi. While many believed Dadvar Safi was the mastermind behind the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, most in the intelligence community agreed that Dadvar’s brother Bagish was the one truly responsible for taking the idea to Osama bin Laden in the first place.
Dutch knew an opportunity like this, being alone with his friend for an entire three-hour drive, would likely never present itself again.
Mantis’ kidnapping by the Somali pirates had left him vulnerable, which Dutch knew he shouldn’t exploit, but he had to. If he didn’t try to get Mantis to talk to him now, he never would.
Chapter 4
Mantis and Alegria
Mantis woke when he felt the SUV come to a stop. He sat up, looked around, and saw they were still in the middle of nowhere.
“What’s up?” he asked Dutch, who was looking out the driver’s side window.
“We need to talk.”
Mantis turned his head away. “No, we don’t.”
“We aren’t going anywhere until you tell me where the hell the man I’ve known since we were eighteen years old disappeared to, cuz I’ll tell you what, I don’t know you at all.”
“You’re full of shit. Just because you—”
“This has nothing to do with me. What happened in Afghanistan?”
Mantis scrubbed his face with this hand. “Nothing.”
“Wrong answer. Something happened.”
“I hunted down the target, and I killed him. End of story.”
“What about Alegria?”
“The woman you couldn’t keep your fucking hands off? What about her, Dutch?”
“You want her back?”
“Fuck you.”
“If you do, I’ll make it happen.”
Mantis wasn’t sure which he wanted to do more: get out of the SUV in the middle of the goddamn desert or kill Dutch with his bare hands. The way he saw it, those were his only two choices.
“If you want to try to make it work with her, I’ll walk away.”
“You think it’s that simple? What is she, a thing to be passed back and forth between us? Nice. Real nice, Dutch. And you say you love her.” Mantis shook his head. He didn’t want to talk about Afghanistan, and he sure as hell didn’t want to talk about Alegria. Particularly with the man she was currently sleeping with.
“Either you want her back or you don’t. It isn’t complicated.”
“You’re a bastard.”
Dutch put the vehicle into gear and pulled away from the side of the road. “If you want her back, just say so. How hard can that be?”
Of course he did; she was the love of his life. No woman could ever mean as much to him as Alegria did, but what he wanted didn’t matter. When he came back from the armpit of the world, namely Afghanistan, she wanted nothing to do with him.
The tone of Dutch’s voice changed. “What happened between you two?”
“I can’t be the man she needs me to be.”
“According to who? You or her?”
“When I came back, I had every intention of telling her I wanted to try to make it work between us.”
“And?”
“She said no.”
“Wait. You had every intention of telling her means you didn’t, so how could she say no?”
“She wasn’t interested in talking to me.”
“What are you saying, exactly?”
“I’m saying she isn’t interested. End of this story too. You’re with her. You should know this.”
Dutch nodded but didn’t say anything.
“You two are together, right?”
Dutch shrugged. “It’s complicated. Her surgery…you. She says it’s over, but I know she still loves you.”
“I’m serious, Dutch. I can’t be who she needs.”
“That’s what she says.”
“Then why did you ask? Why are you making this complicated? It doesn’t sound like there’s any problem other than the one you’re creating.”
“I love her enough to want her to be happy.”
“Do what it takes to make her so.”
—:—
“They’re on their way to Mogadishu,” Onyx told Alegria, setting down his phone after another call with Doc.
“What’s their ETA?”
“A little over two hours. Their signal is spotty. Dutch told Doc he’d check in again once they reached the city. That’s all I know for now, ma’am.”
“Thank God,” she murmured. “Onyx, you don’t have to call me ma’am. We’re equal partners in K19.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Habit. It’s the same with Doc. He always says he isn’t the boss, but even Gunner, Razor, and Mercer think of him that way.”
What Onyx said was true. Kade “Doc” Butler was the sometimes-reluctant head of K19 Security Solutions even though there were three other founding partners—Tabon “Razor” Sharp, Gunner Godet, and Mercer “Eighty-eight” Bryant. Doc’s wife, Merrigan, was the fifth to be considered a “senior” partner and was also the official managing director.
Besides Alegria and Onyx, there were three other former operatives that had recently joined the firm as “junior” partners—Dutch, Griffin “Striker” Ellis, and Rhys “Monk” Perrin. Alegria had heard that an offer was extended to Mantis, but he hadn’t accepted. She wondered if he’d declined because of her and Dutch’s relationship.
Every partner, whether junior or senior, had served in at least one branch of the military and had also worked for the CIA, where most of their contracted work came from. The K19 team specialized in black and clandestine ops, asset protection, interrogation, and when necessary—assassination. Thus, extracting one of their own from a hostage situation before their true identity became known was always paramount.
“You should get some rest, ma’am,” suggested Onyx, once again using the unnecessary honorific.
She could probably do as he suggested now that she knew both of the men who had been part of her life since she was a teenager were safe.
She had been fresh off a plane from France and about to enter the United States Air Force Academy as a French foreign exchange cadet when she met them.
At the time, she’d had every intention of returning to her home country after she graduated, but when the Air Force offered her a pilot training slot, she knew she’d spend her life in the country that was willing to make her dreams of being a fighter pilot come true.
There had been another reason she didn’t return to France—Gehring “Mantis” Cassman. For a long time, she believed they’d spend their lives together. They’d get married, have a family, leave the military, and maybe become commercial airline pilots.
The deeper they got into the covert activities of the CIA after they both retired from the Air Force, the less she believed that dream would ever come true. The separate missions they were assigned kept them apart for months at a time.
Their relationship suffered the most after they’d both returned from different six-month ops. Alegria had planned a vacation to France for them, but within days of being home, Mantis informed her that he was deploying again. She’d been as livid as she was disappointed, and when she’d told him so, they broke up for the first time in what would become many.
“It’s never been a secret that I take my duty very seriously,” he’d said.
“And I don’t?”
“It isn’t the same for you.”
“What does that mean?” She’d had to prod him to continue, and finally, he suggested that because s
he hadn’t been born in the United States, she couldn’t possibly have the same level of commitment to service that he had. She’d slapped his face.
The roller coaster ride of missing each other so much after being apart for weeks or months, getting back together, and then breaking up again, continued for years. Until one day, she’d had enough and climbed off.
She’d never stopped loving him, though. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she hoped he’d realize she was more important to him than his duty, but so far that hadn’t happened. And even if it did, it was too late. She was with Dutch now.
“Ma’am,” she heard Onyx say from the other side of the closed door.
“Coming,” she answered, getting up from the bed.
“Sorry to wake you,” he said, handing her the phone.
Alegria grabbed it from him. “Hello?”
“Hey, sweetheart,” Dutch answered.
“God, it’s good to hear your voice. I’ve been so worried.”
“Sorry I couldn’t get in touch sooner. Things in Somalia are worse than we ever could have imagined.”
“Where are you now?”
“On our way to B-Dog.”
Alegria was familiar with the former Soviet airstrip located about seventy miles north of Mogadishu. The US was dramatically expanding its military force in Somalia, and Baledogle Base was the unofficial headquarters for the teams of Special Forces operatives who were directing the nation’s shadow war.
“How long will you be there?” she asked, hoping he would say they were shipping out right away.
“Not sure at this point. We have a briefing at zero seven hundred tomorrow.”
Alegria checked her watch. Eleven in the morning here meant it was eight in the evening in Mogadishu.
“How…are you?”
“I’m fine, but my guess is what you really want to ask is how Mantis is. Here, I’ll put him on.”
“Dutch? Wait…”
“Yeah?”
“What I really want to know is how you both are.”
“Don’t worry, Flygirl. It’s all good.”
Alegria cringed. Flygirl was what Mantis had called her since they were both assigned to Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas for pilot training. He’d been a member of the squadron that had given her the call sign Alegria. Mantis called her that too, but when it was just the two of them, he either called her Manon or Flygirl.
She heard the phone shuffle and then the deep breath Mantis took before speaking.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hey.”
“Rough mission.”
“Listen—”
“I didn’t mean anything by that, Mantis. I heard it was rough, that’s all.”
“Right. Sorry. I’m pretty beat.”
“I’m glad you’re safe. Dutch too. Please tell him I’ll talk to him later.”
Alegria disconnected the call before Mantis could say anything else. Feelings warred inside of her. Just hearing his voice set her blood on fire with longing to be in his arms. Two simple words, though, had hurled them right back into the fray of misunderstanding, accusations, and the inability to communicate.
She walked into the main room of the guest house to return Onyx’s phone, but he wasn’t there.
He’d probably gone back to the main house where some of the K19 partners were gathered with each other and their families.
The property where she was staying belonged to Gunner Godet’s mother, who had graciously offered to host the team for the holidays. Alegria doubted Madeline had anticipated that almost a week later, some of them would still be here.
“Bon matin,” Madeline said when Alegria walked in the back door of the main house and into the kitchen.
Alegria smiled. Gunner’s grandfather on his mother’s side had been the US Ambassador to France, and Madeline had spent most of her childhood living there.
“Bon matin,” she answered.
“I hear there’s good news.”
“Dutch and Mantis are on their way to the base north of Mogadishu.”
“I’m so glad.” Madeline walked over to hug her. “I was on your side of too many missions in my life. When the call comes in and you know your loved ones are safe, it’s as though the weight of the world is lifted off your shoulders.”
Gunner’s father, who had recently passed away, had retired as a four-star general from the United States Marine Corps. The missions he’d undertaken throughout the course of his career were as legendary as they were dangerous.
“What can I get you?” Madeline asked, opening the refrigerator.
She’d only had coffee this morning, and hadn’t eaten much in the last couple of days. Suddenly, she was ravenous. “Whatever you have,” Alegria answered. “I can get it though,” she added.
“I don’t mind. I love to cook.” Madeline took eggs and bacon out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter. “Breakfast okay?”
“It’s perfect, thank you.” Alegria dug the phone out of her back pocket. “I’ll just return this to Onyx.”
“He’s in the living room. They’re supposed to be taking down decorations, but I think they’re spending more time playing with those puppies.”
“That’s right. The puppies.” Three had been delivered as gifts on Christmas morning. One to Gunner and his fiancée, Zary; another to Ava, Razor’s wife; and the final to Razor’s sister, Saylor, and his nieces.
Saylor and the girls had left the day before, but Razor, Ava, Gunner, and Zary were all still here, which meant two of the puppies were too. Her back hurt just thinking about the rambunctious animals.
“Sit,” Madeline said, pulling out the chair. “I’ll deliver this.” She took the phone out of Alegria’s hand and left the kitchen.
“Thank you,” Alegria said when she came back.
“You’re welcome. How’s your physical therapy going?”
She laughed. “I guess you caught the look on my face when I pictured playing with the puppies.”
Madeline smiled and nodded.
“I need to start up again.” Alegria stood and stretched her back.
The challenge to do so was that her original physical therapist was in California. She’d been seeing one at Langley after Thanksgiving when she and Dutch went to stay at his place in Newport News. It was a four-hour drive from here to there, and even if she attempted it, with Dutch still in Somalia, where would she stay?
“Here,” said Madeline, handing her a business card. “The physical therapy center at the naval base is a ten-minute drive from here. Jennifer, who I saw after my surgery, is wonderful. I’m sure you’ll like her.”
“Thanks. I’ll give them a call.” Alegria sat back down at the table while Madeline finished cooking breakfast. “I’m not sure when Dutch will be back,” she murmured.
Madeline poured two cups of coffee, handed her one, and then sat down at the table, next to her. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.”
“I don’t want to be an imposition, but…”
“You’re not an imposition. The guest house sits empty most of the time, and once everyone else leaves later today, it’ll be much too quiet around here.”
“Everyone is leaving today?” That made Alegria feel even worse about staying on. She had an apartment in New York City that her parents had purchased several years ago and then deeded to her when she retired from the Air Force. She spent so little time there, though. For the last two years, it seemed as though the missions she’d been assigned were back to back. She’d been traveling non-stop up until she was shot and wound up in the hospital, fearing she might be paralyzed.
When she was released, Dutch took her to the condo he’d rented near the hospital. From there they’d gone to his place near Langley. Maybe it was time for her to think about returning to New York and resuming physical therapy there.
“Eat,” said Madeline, pointing to Alegria’s untouched breakfast. “You can solve the world’s problems once you have food in your stomach.”
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“You’re very astute,” she answered between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs.
Madeline laughed. “I was married to a military man for over forty years. I’ve learned to glean.”
Alegria laughed too.
“It’s such a beautiful day,” Madeline said, looking out the window. “Would you be up for a walk later?”
“I’d love it.”
When the rest of the team left, Madeline took Alegria to downtown Annapolis which, in its center, had open docks for boats traveling up and down the Chesapeake Bay. Even though the days right around Christmas were cold, with the warmer weather, many of the docks’ tie-ups were full of boats still decked out in holiday regalia.
“I’m sorry we missed the boat parades, but there will be music, food, and fireworks at the City Dock on New Year’s Eve,” said Madeline.
Alegria doubted she’d be here since it was still four days away, but either way, it sounded like fun and she said so.
The historic downtown was so warm and inviting, with carolers still strolling its brick streets. Lights and wreaths were hung on the countless eighteenth-century homes as well as on the small shops lining both sides of Main Street.
“Hungry?” Madeline asked.
Surprisingly, she was.
“How’s the Federal House sound?”
“Anything is fine with me.”
“It’s been around since the seventeen hundreds, so it’s safe to say it’s good.”
Alegria laughed as they walked inside to wait for a table.
“They say that many of our founding fathers sat in this same room, before it was a restaurant, of course. Marchand and I used to have conversations about the things that happened here that forged our country as we know it.”
Mantis would love this place, Alegria thought to herself. He revered the American history, particularly anything to do with the constitution he, like everyone who worked for K19, vowed to protect and uphold.
“The cornerstone out front says seventeen-thirty, is that right?” Alegria asked.
Mantis (K19 Security Solutions Book 4) Page 2